Firing out ...

by Nestor on Dec 9, 2005 12:55 PM PST in Football

UCLA fired Bob Toledo to bring in Koach Karl. Let's summon up Plaschke from three years ago after UCLA got blown out in its season ending game at the Rose Bowl. This is his LA Times column, dated December 8, 2005

What happens now?

Guerrero said Saturday that he is "still evaluating" the coaching position and that he would meet with Toledo early this week.

But if Guerrero is basing his decision on Saturday's game, as many believed he was, then it is no decision at all.

For a second consecutive game, the Bruins faced an opponent they couldn't stop, surrounded by fans who couldn't watch.

The 100 points allowed to USC and Washington State combined is the most given up in consecutive games by a Bruin team in 82 years.

It hasn't been this bad since their first two years of existence, when they lost to such teams as Hollywood High, the USS Idaho and Whittier.

The number of fans leaving the Rose Bowl by the start of the fourth quarter is also surely a two-game record, the Bruins turning a vibrant football treasure into a pale red graveyard.

Sounds pretty familiar doesn't it. Instead of Wazzu and plug in Arizona and you get 2005. You get the same listless, demoralizing, asswhipping season ending performances we were getting under Toledo. And remember Toledo was fired, because ... his team was not "firing out." From the same Plaschke column:

There is a phrase Dan Guerrero has used to describe what he likes to see in his teams.

"Fire out," he says. "I like to see them fire out."

On a day the Bruins rushed for only 79 yards and committed four turnovers, about the only time anybody really fired out was when senior tackle Mike Saffer blatantly hammered a Cougar defender about five seconds after the whistle, leading to a personal foul and brief benching.

[...]

It might seem silly to fire an engaging coach and smooth recruiter whose team is young and whose only crime may be that he is too nice.

Then again, it's football.

Looks like KD is guilty of the same crime. He is probably a engaging coach (hey he always keeps M&Ms on his desk so he can lounge around with his players and develop football 101!) and a good recruiter, but this is football. It's cool that he is nice, too nice, but it's not fun to see our Bruins getting destroyed by our crosstown rivals in two out of his three years. Sounds like the same old song and dance of UCLA football program not "firing out."

Tweet Comment 3 comments | 0 recs |

Do you like this story?

Comments

It's pretty clear from reading these articles...

...that very little prgress has been made by Karl Dorrell in his 3 years in Westwood.

This season's deceiving 9-2 is all he has.

by Ajax on Dec 9, 2005 4:15 PM PST reply actions

Not Too Early To Start In About Next Year

There is a very real possibility that we will lose to Northwestern after the humiliating defeat against SC. Carry that into next year's schedule:

Utah Utes
Rice Owls
at Washington Huskies
Stanford Cardinal
Arizona Wildcats
at Oregon Ducks
at Notre Dame
Washington State Cougs
at California Bears
Oregon St. Beavers
at Arizona State
USC Trojans

The first 2 games should (I stress SHOULD) be wins. Washington is improving, but Willingham is still the coach, which means this battle of outstanding coaches could go either way. Same with Stanford. If we don't beat Arizona at home badly and exact some much-needed revenge, Koach really should be fired on the spot.

We could head into the Oregon game 3-2 before losing at Autzen and at ND (Koach has no chance with Touchdown Jesus staring him down and C-Weiss throwing half-eaten hot dogs at him while laughing hysterically at his feeble coaching abilities. Not for nothing, though, Weiss does state for the record that Karl does seem like a very nice man). 3-4.

Split with Washington State and Cal (assuming their real quarterback is healthy). 4-5.

We will probably lose 2 of the next three, which means . . .

9-3 will be a distant memory. 5-7 (or, even at best 7-5 or 8-4) to go along with the 2 sub-par years and if Koach is not fired, we will all know that Dorrell has pictures of Guerrero cruising the rest stops manning glory holes.

by Koach Karl I on Dec 10, 2005 7:52 PM PST reply actions